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NT Bureau
Udhagamandalam, May 17:
 

Governor Surjit Singh Barnala releasing the book - Climbing Higher: Empowerment of Women Through Panchayat Level Federation in Udthagamandalam yesterday and State Khadi Minister K Ramachandran received the first copy. Principal Secretary to the Governor C K, the author of book and Nilgiris District Collector Santosh K Misra are also present.

        'Empowering women in rural areas is the key to attain the status of a developed nation,' said Governor Surjit Singh Barnala here yesterday.

        Releasing a book, Climbing Higher: Federation of Women Self-Help Groups at the Panchayat- level, authored by principal secretary to Governor, C K Gariyali, Barnala said women self-help groups (SHGs) could bring about a sea-change in rural areas by instilling a sense of confidence among villagers. Members of SHGs were the force behind a silent revolution and socio-economic change being witnessed in villages and hamlets.

        Barnala exhorted SHGs to ensure that girls, even in remote places, received education. Empowerment of women cannot be done without education, he said.

        'The 2001 census had revealed that the literacy level in India is 64 per cent. While 75.26 per cent of men were literate, the level of literacy in women was only 53.67 per cent'.

        Stressing the need to bridge the gap, he said that the SHG movement in association with the Panchayat Level Federations (PLFs) should go allout to achieve the goal.

        Governor urged the State government to provide sufficient budgetary allocations in order to enhance training and infrastructure development for adequate capacity building at the panchayat- level federation. These federations provide SHG women an opportunity to participate in local governance, he said.

        Talking about the book, Barnala said it goes deep into the issues relating to the social transformation of rural communities and the ways of achieving gender equality.

        State Khadi Board Minister K Ramachandran said the SHG concept had helped uplift many areas. Pointing out that the literacy and awareness levels were rising, he said the government was keen on increasing the number of SHGs.

        Nilgiris District Collector Santosh K Misra and Governor's principal secretary C K Gariyali were also present on the occasion.